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Trans Media Watch and Channel 4

Three cheers for Channel 4 for signing up to the Memorandum of Agreement with Trans Media Watch.

The agreement was signed by Channel 4 at an event last Monday and is the brainchild of Trans Media Watch – a group that works to ensure that fair and accurate portrayals of transgender people are used in the media.

Bt signing, Channel 4 has committed to ‘accuracy, dignity and respect’ in its portrayal of transgender people and to ensure that transgender people in the media are treated with the same respect as everyone else.

Trans Media Watch make it clear that this does not touch on editorial freedom and is not about any sort of censorship – but is to give media organisations the information they need to address the issue from an informed standpoint.

Channel 4 showed three of its 4thought films that will be aired shortly – each was of a trans person speaking about their particular situation. They were such brilliant and powerful snapshots of these three trans peoples’ lives that anyone watching would – if they know little about the trans world – stop seeing the trans and start seeing the person. Absolutely brilliant shorts.

89% of trans gender people experience hate crime. That is beyond shocking and beyond unacceptable and demonstrates just how far we still have to go – despite having some of the best anti-discrimination law in the world. Later this year the Government will publish the first ever transgender action plan – to address some of the issues that impact on trans people.

But that statistic surely also demonstrates the vital need for more understanding – which is the purpose of Trans Media Watch’s Memorandum of Agreement.

Congratulations to Trans Media Watch for this brilliant initiative and to Channel 4 for being the first (hopefully of many) broadcasters to sign up.

Yes, it was a very significant event, and all congratulations to Trans Media Watch for bringing it off.

The real challenge will be in the implementation. A glance at the accompanying 4Thought films that weren’t shown indicates that there is a way to go yet, even when Channel 4 is actually trying to do good. You’ll see what I mean when they air.

In the meantime, your readers will hopefully enjoy my in-depth on the spot coverage of the event, including you full speech.

I agree it is very significant let’s hope Chanel (No.) 5 follows suit!!

Joking about the interesting spelling aside. I do hope other broadcasters and then other media do follow Channel Four’s example. And that this is the first step to trans people being treated like everyone else in all areas of life not just the media.

Any positive measures taken under forthcoming Government Action Plan for TransEquality to improve the lives of ALL the transpopulation – including those who were FAILED so badly by the flawed and discriminatory legislation of the previous administration – are very welcome indeed, because the situation for the most socially marginalised within the transpopulation could hardly be worse.

When it comes to media representation, Trans Media Watch deserve credit for getting this far but an agreement from Channel 4 “to ensure that transgender people in the media are treated with the same respect as everyone else” does not fill me with confidence. It is Channel 4 after all!

It will take more than the offer of a plateful of canape and replica ‘Champagne’ to convince me the transpopulation will be anything other than fodder for the likes of Channel 4 until there is legislation that fully embraces the diversity of the transpopulation, backed with a widespread programme of education underlying the fundamental principle of fair and equal treatment and respect for all human identity.

The denial of existence is the worst act of discrimination by the gendered majority against the non-gendered.